It will take effort to preserve our seaside town

SCARBOROUGH is synonymous with splendid seascapes beautiful sandy beaches and a precious mixed rural landscape that reaches down to the sea. We are indeed blessed, yet like with the fall of the Roman Empire the population remains complacent. Preferring to piffle over trifles – “cull the seagulls”, a quick fix for the inadequacies of man. Meanwhile the fabric of this lovely heritage coast is being decimated by large-scale incongruous developments.

All along the coast picturesque villages and hamlets are merging into one sprawling conurbation, a similar pattern to the destruction of the rural Midlands.

Forty homes off Lady Edith’s Drive, 500 just east of Lancaster Drive and initially more than 184 at the “High Mill” development, all of these developments are on greenfield sites within this area of outstanding natural beauty. But more prosaically, there are inadequate resources and infrastructure for the unprecedented rapid rise in population. Still complacent?

Well, to value our countryside that has made us who we are, to believe in a quality of life that is worth preserving, put political correctness to one side. Then cherish this lovely seaside town and its green environs. Now is not the time to be complacent.